


Keep me Grounded

by gghero



Category: Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Fluff, Forehead Touching, Hugging, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Mentions of Drowning, Nightmares, POV Third Person, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-16 03:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20182210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gghero/pseuds/gghero
Summary: Archie wakes up from a nightmare. Maxie comforts his husband the only way he knows.





	Keep me Grounded

**Author's Note:**

  * For [profcinnarollz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/profcinnarollz/gifts).

> A little birthday gift fic for the lovely professor-cinnamon-roll (@ tumblr) partially inspired by this lovely fanart of theirs: 
> 
> > https://professor-cinnamon-roll.tumblr.com/post/186841195475/i-will-consistently-draw-them-cuddling-while < (minus the ><)
> 
> And special thanks to zeldaanimelover (@ tumblr) for beta reading this for me!
> 
> Hope you all like it! And cinn, if you're reading this, happy birthday! <3

_ "Wake up." _

Archie felt a heavy sensation on his chest. He tried to breathe in, but his ribcage would not expand. 

His body was protecting him. He was underwater, and he was running out of oxygen, but breathing in water was much, much scarier.

_ "Wake up." _

It was scary.

In that weird limbo of darkness, slowly drifting away from consciousness seemed to be all there was. The sheer terror of not knowing where the surface was, or even if there was a surface at all, was paralyzing. No bubbles escaping from his mouth, his nostrils, nothing. No light, only darkness. He was running out of time, and he could do nothing about it. 

_ "Archie!" _

With a gasp, Archie jolted awake. His lungs were immediately filled with fresh air. Then, he started to hyperventilate, and then, he coughed. His chest hurt. Had he been holding his breath?

A warm hand patted his back, while the other firmly grasped his arm, as if keeping him grounded in place. He looked up. Maxie had the kind of relieved expression that still hid a lot of worry behind it. Archie was safe now, but that was far from the end of it.

“Nightmare,” mumbled Archie, still rattled, as his breathing steadied. Maxie nodded in silence, his hand motions getting slower as Archie calmed down. He turned on the lamp on his bedside table. Under the dim, warm light, Archie thought he saw Maxie’s eyes glimmer a little.

“I was sh-shaking you awake. You weren’t breathing, and I- I got scared, damn it.”

“I’m sorry, Max, I’m sorry.” Archie grabbed one of Maxie’s hands, and pressed it against his lips. He breathed through his mouth for a couple of seconds, as if letting Maxie know that everything was okay.

“D-don’t be, you…” Maxie breathed out, letting out a deep sigh and finally allowing himself to shed a tear. He pulled Archie in for a quiet, tight hug. Archie liked it in his arms. He lazily wrapped his arms around Maxie’s waist as his boyfriend squeezed him tighter. “I’m more worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” he said.

“Do you… not want to talk about it?”

“Drowning,” was all he said. Maxie pulled away from the hug, allowing him more room to breathe.

“It wasn’t real.”

“Duh-doy, you genius,” he said with a chuckle before feeling a fist softly punch his arm. Maxie could not help laughing a little, too, even as his face lit up red and his eyes started welling up again.

“Good, nice to know I was worrying about nothing. You had the situation under control, huh?” he said. Joking about it seemed to actually help lighten the mood.

“Now, seriously… thanks for looking out for me, babe,” Archie mumbled, squeezing Maxie’s hand. “I mean it.” Maxie quietly nodded, and then leaned in. He pressed his forehead against Archie’s, and closed his eyes. Soft lips soon found his, and pressed a chaste, warm kiss against them. 

“Do you want to go back to sleep?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

Maxie laid on his back, his arms open and ready to hold Archie. He clung to his chest like a little Komala. Maxie kissed the top of his head, and whispered into his ear, “Goodnight, my brave sailor.”

“Goodnight, troublemaker.”

Maxie rolled his eyes, scoffing. “Who’s the troublemaker?”

“Kiddin’, kiddin’,” said Archie with a little giggle. “Goodnight, babe?”

“Goodnight, love.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos/comments/reviews are appreciated!


End file.
